R' Benzion Shafier tells of going to visit his friend, Rabbi Simes (in picture), who became a quadraplegic as a result of a road accident, see here. He was apprehensive, but they ended up speaking for hours. The strange part of it was, R' Simes was so genuinely happy!
R' Simes said when he first came home from the hospital, he couldn't find a trained medical aide to help him. He wondered why. After all, he wasn't the only person in this condition.
He subsequently found out the reason. His injury, a C4-C5 injury to the spinal cord, is considered such a terrible situation that people rarely leave the hospital which is why there are no trained technicians available. R' Simes explained that they don't actually need to be in the hospital. They are there because they are so angry and depressed. As for himself, he has no anger and no depression.
R' Shafier was astonished. Here's a man living through hell but he has joy and happiness because he's growing and changing, learning and teaching. At a certain point, R' Simes said he believes Hashem chose him and he thinks Hashem gave him this nisayon because he can withstand it and still grow. R' Shafier said he felt humbled. He has spoken about these concepts and wrote a book about them, that Hashem custom designs our lives for us, but here was a man who was living it and has a simchas ha'chaim!
R' Shafier contrasted this with a talk he gave at a seminary in Israel on this subject. A girl raised her hand and said, I hear what you're saying, that Hashem tailors our lives for us, but that's in theory, how do I apply this to my life when I am in so much pain? The next girl said, my life is so hard - how can I apply this to my life? Out of 60 girls in the room, it seemed like 40 had the same question.
R' Shafier looked around and saw well-dressed girls. Someone was paying thousands of dollars for their seminary education. They were not homeless. He felt he was talking to a room full of Holocaust survivors when they actually came from good homes, a land of liberty and opportunity!
He concluded that so many people today are unhappy and suffering and not healthy, functioning citizens. Although it's true we live in a time of unparalleled health, wealth and opportunity and we, as the Jewish nation, have the Torah, there is so much suffering. The addictions, divorce, pain, anxieties, obsessions - why is this happening? R' Shafier says, it's a long bitter exile. People are supposed to be joy-filled, living purposeful lives. This is rare in our days. To those who say - who needs Moshiach, the answer is, says R Shafier: look at the numbers of unhealthy people in our community which is a result of our exile.
Some health problems are a result of exile and some are a result of lifestyle. There is now a new specialty in medicine known as preventative oncology. Preventative oncologists basically research the best dietary and lifestyle approaches and try to educate the public on how to live cancer free. Basically we have been granted such rich food and cars to take us everywhere that in all the richness and goodness, we are losing our health.
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